ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1526 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1526 ************************************ 10 Apr 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is a name appropriate for a German man living between 1000 and 1500. Here is what we have found. The three elements of your name are basically correct, but we have some suggestions about spelling and about the way you've combined them. is apparently a spelling of the name that was usually in medieval German. We do not think that this spelling is likely in German. We found used for in versions of the name from England and the Low Countries, e.g. in 13th century Dutch, but we didn't find any period example of in place of in the second syllable. The overwhelmingly most common German spelling of the name was , though we have also found 1348, 1412. The name was common and produced many pet forms, including 1323 and 1303, both typical of the southern parts of the German-speaking region [1, 2, 3, 7, 8]. The is pronounced just the same as the . is an uncommon Germanic name which we found recorded in 8th to 11th century France as , , and [2]. Such early records were almost universally written in Latin, and names were adapted to Latin by the addition of the grammatical ending <-us>. If you drop that ending, the remainder is likely to be the form used in the vernacular. We didn't find examples of in Germany, though we did find the very similar or in the 13th and early 14th centuries, in the late 14th [1, 4]. Another similar-sounding German name is 1448, 13th and 14th centuries, 1301 [5, 6]. is a Upper (southern) German spelling of , a surname derived from a word meaning "crab". It was originally used in various ways: for a crab-fisher, as a descriptive nickname, or as a house-name. An example of the last category is 1371 "Erhard at the Crab". Erhard lived or worked at a house known as "The Crab", probably for its decoration. Other examples include the Latin 1197 and 1242 [1]. Double given names or middle names are rare in our period. We've found very occasional examples in Germany as early as the 13th century, but they didn't become at all common until the 15th century [5]. If you want a name from an earlier period, then we recommend you choose one of the two given names and call yourself something like . If you want a 15th or 16th century name, then would be a reasonable choice. Note that either name places you in the south -- Switzerland, Bavaria, or Austria -- because the spelling is typical of those areas. Note that the spelling of your given name is only plausible for the northwestern parts of the German world, so a combination of the two is not plausible. If you choose either of the names we've suggested, then would be an interesting familiar form of your name. We hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Alan Fairfax, Walraven van Nijmegen, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 10 Apr 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Worterbuch der deutschen Familiennamen_ (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag, 1957-1960), s.nn. Friderich, Fritschi, Mengo{sz}, Krebs. [2] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle_, three volumes (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972), I:93b, I.167a. [3] Forssner, Thorvald, _Continental-Germanic Personal Names in England in Old and Middle English Times_ (Uppsala: K.W. Appelbergs Boktryckeri, 1916), s.n. Frederic. [4] Mulch, Roland, _Arnsburger Personennamen: Untersuchungen zum Namenmaterial aus anrsburger Urkunden vom 13. - 16. Jahrhundert_ (Darmstadt & Marburg: Hessischen Historischen Kommission Darmstadt and the Historischen Kommission fu:r Hessen, 1974), pp.32-6. [5] Socin, Adolf, _Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch. Nach oberrheinischen Quellen des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts_ (Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 1903; Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1966), p.27 and ch.4. [6] Bahlow, Hans, _Dictionary of German Names_, tr. Edda Gentry (German-American Cultural Society, 1994 ISBN: 0924119357), s.n. Mangold. [7] Talan Gwynek, "Medieval German Given Names from Silesia" (WWW: SCA, Inc., 1998). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/bahlow_v.htm [8] Tavernier-Vereecken, C., _Gentse Naamkunde van ca. 1000 tot 1253: een bijdrage tot de kennis van het oudste middelnederlands_ (Belguim: 1968), p.82.